Heretofore, aerosol-type dispensers have been employed for dispensing various types of liquids such as paint, air freshener, hair spray, and the like. However, the use of aerosol-type dispensers has become less popular of late due to the reported breakdown of the ozone layer in the atmosphere caused by the propellants used in the aerosols.
To overcome the hazardous condition caused by aerosol-type dispensers, the use of pumps as the discharge assistant is becoming more prevalent. The conventional dispensing pump includes a dip tube extending into the container of fluid to be dispensed and a plunger or piston assembly and outlet nozzle mounted on the container closure, whereby the reciprocation of the plunger causes a measured amount of fluid to be drawn through the dip tube and dispensed through the nozzle.
While the use of conventional pumps has been satisfactory for avoiding hazardous aerosols, they have not been universally accepted by the general public due in large measure by the pumps' lack of versatility for dispensing different types of fluids. More particularly, a pump provided for dispensing paint from one container cannot be employed for dispensing a different colored paint from another container without first spending a considerable amount of time cleaning the pump assembly.
After considerable research and experimentation, the dispenser of the present invention has been devised to overcome the disadvantages of conventional dispensing pumps, and comprises, essentially, a motor actuated piston pump assembly mounted in a housing which is detachably connected to a container closure having a diaphragm pump-spray nozzle assembly mounted thereon. The piston pump actuates the diaphragm pump-spray nozzle assembly for dispensing fluid from the container. The piston pump and diaphragm pump are constructed and arranged so that the piston pump does not become contaminated by the fluid being dispensed and, therefore, can be detachably connected to other containers having similarly mounted diaphragm pump-spray nozzle assemblies whereby various types of fluids, such as paint, air freshener, water, hair spray, and the like can be successively dispensed.